NEW ORLEANS – The $18.7 billion dollar BP settlement is a boon for the water management (coastal restoration) industry in Southeast Louisiana, but it risks becoming a momentary blip.
The Data Center, a resource for data about greater New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana and a local authority for tracking post-Katrina recovery, finds water management can become a self-sustaining driver of jobs, but only if it transforms into an industry cluster that innovates and taps markets outside the region. Two key ingredients for turning coastal restoration dollars into a self-sustaining driver of jobs and prosperity for Southeast Louisiana are an educated workforce and substantial investment capital that supports innovation.
On the workforce side, The Data Center found only 26 percent of adults in Southeast Louisiana have a bachelor’s degree, compared to 29 percent in the nation. Southeast Louisiana has fallen increasingly behind since 1980, when it actually had a higher share of bachelor’s holders than the nation.
This workforce gap not only hinders the ability of companies to hire qualified people, but also stunts the inflow of an educated workforce, The Data Center reports. Recent economic literature shows that educated graduates are drawn to educated regions.
On the innovation side, Southeast Louisiana ranks poorly in private investment and research and development (R&D). These two sources of capital are the primary drivers of innovation in regional economies. The Data Center found they are virtually nonexistent in the LA Southeast region.
In academic science and engineering R&D, Louisiana was 24th in the nation in 2002, but saw its funding contract as other states' funding expanded, to the point where Louisiana is now ranked 40th.
To turn BP settlement dollars into a long-term economic driver—the way aerospace dollars did for Seattle—The Data Center said it will requires an investment climate that supports innovation and a skilled workforce.
The Data Center concluded Louisiana is sorely lacking in both.
